Hoefler
was having a
hard time coming up with a good title for his series so he asked
Ralph Vaerst, then president of Ion Equipment, for a
suggestion. Vaerst gave him the idea of somehow using Silicon
Valley because he had often heard people on the east coast
refer to it that way. Hoefler , unaware of how well the name would
stick, agreed with Vaerst and named his series "Silicon Valley
USA," which was more than likely the first
time the name was used in print.

Digital Equipment Corporation, 1996

.
"The term Silicon
Valley was used occasionally mostly byeasterners who would
mention making a trip to Silicon Valley,until 1971 when it was
popularized in a series of articles, ``SiliconValley
USA,'' written by Don Hoefler for Electronic
News. Quitelikely it was the first time the term was
used in
print.(Note30).....

Hoefler was choosing a name for an article about the
semiconductor industry that he was writing for Electronic
News. Ralph Vaerst, then president of Ion
Equipment, suggested Silicon Valley. Hoefler
named his article, ``Silicon Valley USA;''
it was a series that ran for 3 weeks, beginning 11 January
1971."

~ Carolyn Tajnai, 1995

. In
1971, in a series of
articles that Hoefler wrote for ELECTRONIC NEWS, a
weekly tabloid, he first used the phrase
"SiliconValley" to describe the congeries of
electronics firms mushroomingin Santa Clara
county. "He pioneered the coverage of Silicon Valley as a
distinct community," - said Michael S. Malone,author of a book
chronicling the industry called THE BIG SCORE."When we think of
Silicon Valley as a collection of charactersand eccentrics, he's the
one who put that whole idea in our minds,"- said Malone.

Hoefler began his career in
electronics journalism as a publicist for Fairchild Semiconductor in
Mountain View. He subsequently worked as a reporter for Fairchild
Publications, owner of ELECTRONIC NEWS, and then held editorial
positions with RCA Corp. and with McGrawHill.

Don C. Hoefler died in South
San Francisco on April 15, 1986 at the ageof 63. He was publishing a
weekly newsletter called MICROELECTRONICS NEWS at the time of his
death, following a recent cerebrovascular accident

Don Hoefler "was a publicist for Fairchild
Semiconductor when the electronics industry was in its infancy" ...

Los Angeles Times,: Apr 17, 1986

Mr. Silicon
Valley: This issue from 1986 contained the last interview with Don
Hoefler, who was best known for coining the phrase 'Silicon Valley,' but
was equally important as a critical voice in a time of explosive growth...
(read
more)